Iowa Caucus 2024

Donald Trump has won 98 of 99 counties in Iowa, garnering a majority (51%) of the votes.  The one county that he did lose, Johnson County, he lost to Nikki Haley by 1 vote.  It should be noted that many Democrats participated in the caucus by changing their voter registration on the day of the caucus.  Such voters invariably chose Haley.  Though Haley won a county, DeSantis was second with 21% of the votes, Haley was 3rd with 19%, and Ramaswamy - my favored candidate - was last with 8% of the vote.  Ramaswamy suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.

With Ramaswamy out of the race, that leaves three going into New Hampshire.  Haley is expecting a strong showing and has already announced it is a two-person race after Iowa.  In fact, polling in New Hampshire indicates Trump will win with 40% of the vote and Haley will have a strong showing around 30%.  If that holds, Haley will hope for an upset in her home state of South Carolina.  If Trump wins both New Hampshire and South Carolina, the campaign is over.

Will it be Trump v. Biden again?  If so, I would expect Reagan's question: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?"

Blame the Republican

In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina smashed into Louisiana and left a path of devastation, the media piled on President Bush - a Republican - for his failure to respond in a timely fashion.  His poor leadership made a bad situation worse.  Governor Blanco - a Democrat - was hardly mentioned.  Mayor Ray Nagin - a Democrat - did receive some criticism for not evacuating New Orleans, but that was overshadowed by Spike Lee's claims that the levees were intentionally destroyed to flood black neighborhoods.

In 2022, when Hurricane Ian smashed into Florida, the media press Governor DeSantis - a Republican - regarding deaths and short-notice evacuations orders.  President Biden - a Democrat - is hardly mentioned in relation to the hurricane.

Regardless of the situation, somehow it is always the Republican's fault.  Threat of a government shutdown when the president is a Republican and the congress is Democratic?  The president is to blame.  Threat of shutdown when president is a Democrat, and the congress is Republican?  The congress is to blame.  Gridlock in congress when the house is Democrat, and the senate is Republican?  Senate at fault.  Gridlock when house is Republican, and senate is Democrat?  Clearly, the house is in error.  When a Republican does something wrong, the story is how the Republican did something wrong.  When a Democrat does something wrong, the story is how Republicans are making political hay over Democrat missteps.

A Democrat calls a Republican a Nazi or a fascist, he's speaking truth to power.  A Republican says anything negative toward a Democrat and he is accused of being uncivil and perhaps even encouraging violence.

It's a one-way street in most of the media.  Republicans bad, Democrats good.  It's a miracle Republicans ever win an election with the non-stop negative press.

Sanctuary in Name Only

Mayors, governors, senators, and representatives from cities and states that are far from the border have long labeled anyone who wants a border wall to be racists.  The sitting vice president has repeatedly declared that the border is secure and the fact that a couple busloads of illegal immigrants just arrived near her residence has not changed that view.  Governor Ron DeSantis raised the ante by chartering a flight to Martha's Vineyard for 50 undocumented migrants.  The very people who virtue signal by stating that no person is illegal are now crying foul.  They don't have the resources to deal with all these people.  Oh, really?  Thousands are coming over the Texas border on a daily basis, but home of the super wealthy Martha's Vineyard is unable to cope with 50.  Similar caterwauling has been heard from New York City, Washington DC, and Chicago.  What happened to the compassion that dripped from every proclamation about the border?  Yeah, it was great as long as it wasn't in your backyard.

Don't Say Gay Law

Today, Governor DeSantis signed HB 1557: Parental Rights in Education into law.  Amazingly, it is not a very long bill, only 7 pages.  Mostly, it says parents have a right to know what schools are teaching their kids, schools cannot conceal what they are teaching kids, and - most controversial of all - no sex education for kids from kindergarten to third grade.  That this bill has caused such a furor is a sad statement of our culture.  When I was in school, sex education class didn't occur until my sophomore year in high school.  Back in those days, they combined it with driver's ed.  Now, people are upset that schools are limited from teaching sex ed to kids 8 and under?  I say "limited" because the law specifies age-appropriate; who decides what is age appropriate?

Let's take a look at some of the specifics.  The law amends existing law regarding student welfare, which apparently is addressed in Subsection 8 of section 1001.42.  Let's look at the additions.

1. Parents must be informed regarding any welfare issue and all records must be made available to the parent.

2. School districts may not adopt policies that prohibit school personnel from notifying parents, unless such notice will result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect.  Yeah, who decides what will result?

3. Classroom instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kinder through third grade or in a manner that isn't age appropriate.  Again, who decides what is appropriate?

4. Schools must adhere to guidelines established by Department of Education.  I suppose this is who determines my questions on points 2 & 3.

5. Parents must be notified at beginning of school year what health services are offered and be given the option of opting out.

6. Before administering a well-being questionnaire to a student, the parent's permission must be obtained.

7. If parents voice a concern, the school has 7 days to determine a process to resolve it.  Or maybe a month.  Or, if still a problem, a special magistrate in good standing with 5 years' experience can be brought in to...  blah blah blah... legalese stuff.

Why are some people so desperate to talk to kids 8 and under about sexuality and gender identity?  Kids at these ages are extremely impressionable.  When I was that age, my father drank Coke.  Based on nothing but that, I formed the idea that when I became a dad, I'd have to drink Coke.  Stupid, but there it is.  My drink of choice was Mountain Dew, but I knew it would change when I was a dad.  It wasn't until I was 18 or 19 that I realized that was stupid.  Imagine if I had been actively taught that there were 81 genders.

Teach the kids to read, write, and count.  Sex ed has no place in elementary schools.  I would have included 4th and 5th grade too.